


If you let me down, let me down slow

by keithsjuicebox



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 04:44:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13139328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keithsjuicebox/pseuds/keithsjuicebox
Summary: Small thing where Keith is an edgy artsy kid and Lance is a goofy popular kid but they are both nerds





	1. I talked to him

**Author's Note:**

> for Grace @klances on tumblr for voltron-ss secret santa <3

Keith had forgotten his headphones and he was paying for it. The hallways of Altea High were terribly loud and every shout made him flinch. Why did his drawing class have to be on the complete opposite side of the building from his English room? Keith took a deep breath. One more period and then he was home free.  
  
Of course, the Club Fair just happened to coincide with the first day in three years that Keith forgot his earbuds too. Adding to the din were thirty or so kids passing out flyers and chanting club slogans. GSA was handing out Skittles, the boys’ soccer team had cleared a circle for one show off to juggle the ball continuously, and the captain of the cheer squad had a megaphone.  
  
Keith wondered if he’d qualify for the Olympics with this pace of speed walking. Clubs looked fun and all, but none of them were really his thing, though that soccer kid’s juggling was pretty mesmerizing. In staring, he was caught off guard by the cheerleader’s megaphone and jumped back, scattering someone’s flyers.  
  
“Ah, sorry…” Keith wanted desperately to just run away, but that would be both rude to the kid he just bumped into, and running in the halls could cost a write up he couldn’t afford. He bent to help pick up the papers, snatching one out from under some douche’s Timberlands.  
  
“No dude, it’s not your fault. I can’t believe they let Allura use that megaphone. You’re the third person she’s knocked over this period.” The other boy stacked up the undamaged flyers and looked up at Keith. His eyes were a fierce blue and his smile caught Keith’s breath.  
  
He recognized the boy instantly. It was Lance, a well liked, goofy kid who founded surf club and used to sit in front of him in Chemistry 1. They had been terrible lab partners, never agreeing on set ups, but Keith always had a good time in that class, especially when the two of them made a mess.  
  
By the end of the year, they were pretty close. Lance used to blab to him about his crush on the head cheerleader, and Keith even felt brave enough to show him some of his art. But it had been almost six months since they had talked. Keith figured Lance was too popular for him anyway.  
  
Keith stood back up, suddenly second guessing his decision not to join the GSA. Tons of other students flowed around the two of them, bumping shoulders and bags as they passed by. Lance rose to look Keith in the eye.  
  
“Want one of these?” He extended one of the flyers.  
  
“Uh, no thanks, I can’t surf.” Keith looked anywhere but at Lance. His palms were sweating now and he was afraid the paper would melt if he touched it.  
  
Lance laughed and Keith was assaulted with an old crush all over again. “Well I’m sure Surf Club could help you with that, but these are actually for Astronomy Club. I’m the president and founding member!”  
  
Keith’s mouth opened in surprise. This kid was out here founding multiple clubs and Keith couldn’t even remember to bring his headphones to school.  
  
“C’mon, I know you’d be interested. I remember in Chemistry, you said your cat’s name was Mintaka, and that’s one of the stars in Orion.” Lance winked, killing Keith instantly. This stupid nerd had remembered his cat’s name?  
  
“Okay.” Keith gave in, taking the flyer gently.  
  
“Alright, great, cool! First meeting is on Monday, three to four, in 317!” Lance grinned, trying to mask the regret from spewing dumb words. “See ya there!” Keith waved to him and disappeared into the mass of students heading upstairs. Letting out a deep breath, Lance rubbed his temples and ran back to the Astronomy Club table.  
  
“Hunk, I talked to him,” he whispered, collapsing into a chair.  
  
“What?” The hallways were clearing as the bell rang, but it was still too loud for whispering.  
  
“I. Talked. To. Him.” Lance exaggerated mouthing the words, and Hunk finally got it.  
  
“How did it go?” Hunk scooted his chair closer so he could hear the details.  
  
“Is it creepy that I remembered his cat’s name?” That just made Hunk laugh. Lance overthought everything, and a silly old crush was no exception. It got him hung up on Allura and over her within a week. It was a good thing too, because Allura started dating a girl from Balmera High the next week.  
  
“Well, is he coming to the meeting?” Hunk prodded. He wasn’t even sure Lance could handle having Keith at the meeting, but it was gonna be fun to watch him try.  
  
“I sure as hell hope so.”  
  
Lance laid like that in his chair for his entire free period, barely promoting the club anymore, just fidgeting and staring at the ceiling. What if this whole thing was his imagination and Keith hated him for all the silly pranks he had pulled in Chemistry? What if Keith only took the flyer to be nice and was actually mad because Lance hadn’t talked to him in a while? Under his brooding facade, he was a sweet kid. But was he faking that?  
  
Above him in Room 202, Keith wasn’t listening to his English teacher one bit. The floor and his own thoughts were much more interesting to him than Henry David Thoreau’s _Walden._  
  
He absolutely could _not_ go to that meeting. What was he gonna do, sit there and listen to Lance talk about space for an hour? No way. That sounded terrible. Right? Keith couldn’t handle an hour of Lance gushing about his dorky passions. Lance was so annoying in chemistry anyway, always trying to make the experiment his own by adding elements, all for the sake of “fun.” Keith didn’t even get an A in that class.  
  
Well, it wasn’t like he got an A in anything else either. And the day Lance put a stopper on a liquid he was heating and the stopper shot across the room… Maybe that was a little fun. And maybe Keith encouraged him to do it.  
  
The Astronomy Club flyer had gotten wrinkled from its trip down the crowded hallway in Keith’s sweaty hand, but he could still read it. _Mondays, 3-4 in Room 317_ was printed under the fancy club logo.  
  
Damn it. Why couldn’t it conflict with hockey practice and make his life easy? Why couldn’t he have remembered his headphones today? _Guess I’ll be there, Lance._


	2. I don't know how to manage my emotions

Keith arrived at the Astronomy Club meeting late. Classy. It wasn’t his fault that it took him five minutes to put his hand on the doorknob. The lights were off in 317 and Lance had the projector on, discussing a field trip to a local research lab. He didn’t even notice as Keith slid into a seat in the back.  
  
Lance’s hands got way more expressive when he was excited. They cast shadows and shapes on the projector screen, pointing to pictures and rolling to emphasize yada yadas. It was cute.  
  
Keith felt like he’d been pulled out of a trance when the lights flicked back on. Right then, he made direct eye contact. Lance paused for a second, but the corners of his mouth turned upwards into a smile.  
  
“Any questions?” Tearing his eyes away, Lance glanced around the classroom. A kid with massive eighties style glasses raised his hand and asked something about renting a StarLab, and Lance answered without consciously processing any information. He already knew he’d be blacking out this speech in front of a crowd, but now that Keith was here, it felt even less real.  
  
_Raise your hand, dumbass,_ Keith thought to himself. _Come up with a question. Say something._ Inside his head he was screaming, while his body remained frozen.  
  
“Okay, well, see you guys next Monday, and the fun will really begin!” Slowly, the classroom emptied, and Hunk, Keith, and Lance, and one other kid were left alone with the faculty sponsor, Mr. Shirogane. He had papers to grade, so he congratulated Lance on his presentation and took off. Keith stayed in the back of the class and went on his phone, trying to look casual.  
  
“Hey Pidge, our bus will be here in two minutes.” Hunk broke the silence. “We should be heading down stairs. Bye Lance!” The two disappeared, and then it was just Lance and Keith.  
  
Lance took a deep breath, rolled his eyes, and approached Keith. A part of him was telling him this was stupid, and another part was wondering how Keith was pulling off a mullet in the twenty-first century.  
  
Done flipping through his homescreens, Keith jumped up and grabbed his backpack. “Hey Lance. Uh, that was great. That field trip sounds really cool.”  
  
“Really? I was worried it might be too intense for people, and that everyone would rather just go to the planetarium or something.” Lance turned and started picking up his things. His hands were shaking.  
  
“Well, the planetarium is a classic, but the behind the scenes stuff is something I’ve never seen before.” Thinking about space and rocket fuel research was calming Keith down just a little bit. He smiled.  
  
_Okay, here goes,_ Lance thought. “Well, the behind the scenes tour has to be booked in advance, but you know, the planetarium doesn’t close for another two hours.”  
  
Keith just looked at him blankly, his mouth open in a tiny O.  
  
“Do you wanna, um, go with me? To the planetarium? Right now?” Lance shrugged his shoulders and hoped this was a little more obvious.  
  
“Oh, uh…” Keith looked at his phone. Hockey practice was in forty-five minutes. Well, screw hockey. “Yeah, sure!” His stomach did a little backflip. _Is this a date? This cannot be a date._  
  
The smile on Lance’s face was like a punch to the gut. A big, soft, warm punch that released thousands of butterflies into Keith’s stomach.  
  
He didn’t recall exiting the school. Keith found himself being blasted by the wind in Lance’s beat up convertible, trying not to hurl, but not for the reason he thought. Lance was an awful driver. He was in all lanes; he was in no lanes, driving on the shoulder, at least twenty over the speed limit. There was a cacophony of horns and cussing. Lance was laughing and having the time of his life.  
  
“Sorry, I’ve only had my license for two weeks!” Lance yelled over the roar of the highway.  
  
“You are the worst! Driver! Ever!” Keith’s voice cracked when he screamed. If this was the end for him, at least he’d been asked out by a cute boy before he croaked.  
  
“But hey, we made great time!” Lance swerved into the parking lot of the planetarium. Most families were leaving, so it was easy to snag a good parking spot.  
  
“I’m ubering home,” Keith muttered.  
  
“Can’t uber if you don’t have a phone.” Lance retorted, grabbing Keith’s from his pocket.  
  
“Hey, give that back!” It was chemistry all over again, but with a much bigger playing field. Lance was already out of the car, sprinting to the entrance. Keith didn’t move. “You forgot to lock the car, Nimrod.”  
  
It took Lance five times as long to drag his feet and slink back to the car than it had for him to run to the door. His defeated face was enough to get Keith giggling.  
  
“C’mon, we’re wasting daylight.” Lance finally got in range of the car and locked it.  
  
“ _We’re_ wasting daylight? _You’re_ the one wasting daylight, McClain.”  
  
“Says the guy who screams when I drive on the shoulder.”  
  
“Hey, I did not scream. I just pointed out that there were plenty of open lanes.”  
  
The planetarium was practically empty when they arrived. They poured over every exhibit they could, Lance spouting tons of random facts he’d collected from tour guides and research over years. Keith felt the most at home in the exhibit on astronomy and culture, looking at the massive, ancient paintings of the stars. “Not as good as yours,” Lance whispered to him.  
  
They got lost in the mirror maze, burned their eyes looking at the sun (but, according to Lance, not as bad as Galileo,) and touched part of the moon. Ten minutes before closing, the two laid down on the floor to look up at a map of the night sky.  
  
“Hey Keith, there’s your cat!” Lance laughed and pointed to the Orion constellation.  
  
“I can’t believe you remembered my cat’s name.” Keith felt all warm all of the sudden.  
  
“You know, I was gonna say I remembered it because it’s a dumb name for a cat, but I’m the one who knew she was named after a star.” Their laughter echoed in the round chamber.  
  
“Congratulations, Lance, you played yourself.” Keith rolled over to look at him. Lance’s eyes were glued to the stars. They meandered through the constellations before they fell onto Keith. His pupils grew huge in the darkness, littered with the reflection of hundreds of pinpricks of light.  
  
_I’m the one who played myself,_ Keith thought. Here he was, developing a big dumb crush on a popular kid who probably just wanted to go to the planetarium and none of his real friends would go with him. Keith looked back up at the fake stars.  
  
“Keith, do you believe in life on other planets?” The question made Keith sit bolt upright.  
  
“Yes, of course. The universe is so big, Lance. How could there not be? How selfish of humanity to think we are alone-”  
  
“Geez, calm down, nerd. I was just making sure. I don’t know if I could be friends with someone who didn’t believe in aliens.” Lance poked him in the ribs, teasing him. Keith swatted him away and then thought about that statement, chewing on his lip.  
  
“Are we… friends?” Keith asked. Lance sat up too.  
  
“Well, do you want to be friends?” Fidgeting with the zipper on his jacket, Lance let his guilt flow back. “I’m sorry I haven’t really talked to you since Chemistry. I-”  
  
“No it’s fine, Lance. You have friends and a life and surf club.”  
  
“Keith, I really liked hanging out with you in that class. It was wrong of me to ignore you.” Keith normally felt free when he looked up at the night sky. In here though, the starry bubble made him feel almost claustrophobic all the sudden.  
  
“Well, I could’ve reached out too, but I was too scared. It’s not all your fault.”  
  
“Why were you scared?” Keith hadn’t expected that question.  
  
_Great, I’ve talked myself into a corner. This is why I keep my earbuds in and don’t chat with people at school._ What was he going to say now? _Well, I was kinda gay for you and I didn’t know if you’d be into that._ No. _You’re popular and I’m a loser._ Nope. _I don’t know how to manage my emotions._ Definitely not.  
  
Lance’s breath sounded ragged as he inhaled. It was apparent that Keith was thinking hard over an answer, but he couldn’t wait. He had to ask.  
  
“Keith, do you want to be… more than friends?” Keith fell deep into those big blue eyes. This couldn’t be real, could it? Lance was smart, nice, playful, and beautiful. He was too smart, too nice, too playful, too beautiful. Keith couldn’t resist.  
  
He closed his eyes and tilted his head, touching his lips to Lance’s. His eyes flew open as soon as it happened, both hopeful and fearful. Lance was grinning ear to ear.  
  
“I think I do, Lance.”  
  
“Well if you want to be my _boy _friend, you gotta kiss me better than that.” Keith scoffed and went in for it again, this time lingering and running a hand through Lance’s hair.__  
  
“Hey, the planetarium is closing! Break it up!” Some poor staff member happened to walk in at the perfectly wrong time, and the two boys ran all the way back to the car.


End file.
